


Of Candy Apples and Fright

by dapatty



Category: Bandom, Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Corn Mazes, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Mentions of anxiety related to Fright
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-24
Updated: 2018-10-24
Packaged: 2019-08-06 17:44:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16392200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dapatty/pseuds/dapatty
Summary: 6. Mikey & Patrick (or Mikey/Patrick) Scaring the sugar out of you





	Of Candy Apples and Fright

Patrick still wasn’t sure exactly why he’d said yes to going to the haunted house and corn maze to begin with. Normally, he was a practical dude not prone to spontaneous fun. Spontaneous fun was more something that happened to Patrick because of Pete. 

But well, Mikey Way had done this thing, this not-exactly-fair thing, where he’d asked Patrick, using his words and lanky everything. Patrick had been so startled by the forward nature of the request and a little glad that anyone had thought of him and said, “Sure. Haunted corn maze sounds great!”

And sure, maybe Patrick allowed himself to momentarily swept up in a nostalgic blast of crisp fall leaves underfoot. There was a quiet bite of chill to the night, a warning of winter and faint woodsmoke on the wind, and of corn stalks standing in the field at twilight, their husks dried and blades foreboding on the outskirts of the suburbs of Chicago lonesome in the way of the corn fields of the midwest. He remembered his feet pounding on packed field dirt, clinging to the hands of friends. He remembered the exhilarating feel of the hair standing on the back of his neck and heart in his throat as they ran from some performer wielding a screaming chainsaw. He remembered laughter and the smell of hot cider and hayrides.

Too late to be polite, he remembered he didn’t really like being scared. That his favorite part of a haunted corn maze or house was the exit and knowing that the frights were over and the safety of the car was a short, easy, and well-lit walk away. But Mikey had looked so quietly hopeful, chewing a little on his lip when he asked Patrick to come. Even helpfully added, “Gerard and Lindsey are coming, so it’s not too scary, if you’re worried.”

“I’m not worried,” Patrick had scoffed, which Mikey had answered with a knowing smirk.

Anyway, that’s how he ended up riding with the Ways to a haunted corn maze somewhere near Bakersfield on a Saturday in October. The ridiculousness of a corn maze in California for his Midwestern brain should have been enough to ease the low-level dread that he was rocking, but he couldn’t get his brain to just stop it already. Not while trying to follow the conversation in the car, anyway, because all of Gerard’s opinions about Orphan Black were completely and totally wrong. 

Before he knew it, they’d pulled into the parking lot right at dusk. Gerard and Lindsey went off to get admission, swinging Bandit between them. Patrick hopped out of the vehicle but got as far as leaning against the door. He totally follow them. In a minute. Or fifteen. 

Mikey walked around to Patrick’s side of the car and bumped shoulders with him. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Patrick said, letting out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. 

“You know it’s okay if you’re scared,” Mikey said, kicking the dirt a little with his sneaker. “I get scared at these things too.”

“Is this about the point where you’re going to do something smooth like offer to hold my hand so I won’t be frightened?” Patrick asked, trying to smile, but knowing it came out more of a constipated grimace. 

“Well, yeah, but I want to hold your hand anyway,” Mikey said, shoulders lifting in a shrug. “You know, because I like you.”

“You like me?” Patrick did not squeak. Well, he’d hoped, at least a little bit, that Mikey liked him. Like, _liked him_ liked him and that maybe this was kind of a date but the other Ways came along and he was just a little confused and riding high on pending anxiety. “Because I thought maybe this would be kind of a date but then it wasn’t just us and I thought that maybe I was wrong. And now I’m just rambling. Pete is the worst influence.”

“Yeah, that’s mostly me. I might’ve got a little nervous and Gerard offered to be like a buffer, kind of. He gave a whole supportive speech. But anyway, yeah, I like you,” Mikey was grinning now, even blushing, and Patrick’s breath caught in his throat because he could only think about how pretty Mikey was in the last rays of sunlight, with his eyes crinkling with fondness because he _liked_ Patrick. He might be swooning a little. Just a smidge.

“Oh,” Patrick said and couldn’t help but smile back because holy smokes. This dude liked him. Rad.

“Yeah, oh,” Mikey reached out and Patrick met him halfway, twining their fingers together, palms warm. He gave Mikey’s hand a squeeze and Mikey squeezed back. 

“So I like you too, for the record,” Patrick said swinging their hands a little and tugging Mikey toward where Gerard, Lindsey, and Bandit waited at the corn maze entrance.

“That’s great because sharing a candy apple with you later mighta got a little awkward,” Mikey joked, guiding them to a table selling light-up purple pumpkin necklaces that announced them ‘For Those Not Wishing to be Spooked’. After handing over cash for two necklaces, he let Patrick’s hand long enough to slide the pumpkins over his head and turned it on before sliding his own necklace over his head.

“Oh hey, you don’t have to get one. I know you don’t mind being scared,” Patrick said, reaching for it.

Mikey took his hand instead and said, “No, it’s okay. Nothing was more frightening than the shovel talk Pete gave me over you.”

“Pete didn’t,” Patrick facepalmed with his free hand. “He’s a menace.”

“Well yeah, but he’s your menace,” Mikey said. “But Andy’s who I should watch for, right? Because it’s always the pocket straight edge drummers that you gotta pay attention to.”

“You’re a smart dude, Mikeyway,” Patrick said.

“Smart enough to finally ask you out at least,” Mikey said. 

“You do get points there,” Patrick agreed.

“Ugh, are we going to have to listen to flirting the whole time,” Bandit complained.

“Nope, because we’re off to be pursued by the monsters and last one in gets to be fed to the corn!” Lindsey cackled, scooping up a laughing Bandit and sprinting into the maze with Gerard giggling at her heels.

“Yes, I know you won’t let me be eaten by monsters in the corn,” Patrick rolled his eyes.

“Of course,” Mikey lit up with a dopey smile, giving his hand a final squeeze and tugging him into the corn and the twilight.


End file.
